thumb|right|alt=Cars being driven on an auto racing track|Three-time race winner [[Jeff Gordon leads the field to the start of the 2015 Daytona 500.]]
The Daytona 500 is an annual American stock car race sanctioned by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and held every February at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was first held in 1959 after NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. wanted to take the sanctioning body away from the Daytona Beach and Road Course and onto a permanent racing facility to allow NASCAR races to continue being held in Daytona Beach. The event is the premier and final race of the three-week Speedweeks series of races and has been the first points-paying round of the NASCAR Cup Series since 1982. an estimated $2.5 million in prize money, a championship ring as well as a black leather jacket, and their car is put on display in race-winning condition in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America museum adjacent to the track for 12 months until the following year's Daytona 500.
In the 68 editions of the Daytona 500 that have occurred as of the 2026 race, 44 different drivers have won. The winner of the first race was Lee Petty in 1959, and the most recent victor was Tyler Reddick in 2026. Petty also holds the distinction of having the longest time between his first and last wins, 17 years between the 1964 and 1981 races. Buddy Baker and Junior Johnson set the record for the fastest and slowest race-winning average speeds of in 1980 and in 1960, respectively.
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!scope="col" rowspan="2"|Season
!scope="col" rowspan="2"|Race
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!scope="col" rowspan="2"|Driver
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!scope="col" rowspan="2"|Team
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!scope="col" rowspan="2"|Tire
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!scope=colgroup colspan="4"|Distance
!scope=colgroup colspan="2"|Speed
!scope=col rowspan="2" class="unsortable"|
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!scope=row style="text-align: center;" | 1959
|style="text-align: center;"|1959
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